These are the numbers associated with the Automated Enforcement System (AES) so far. But it’s not the numbers that matter, at least not for the Road Transport Department (RTD), Road Safety Department (RSD) and Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros), the triumvirate driving the implementation of the AES.

The most important number, just more than a month after the AES came into being, is that the number of images of offenders being captured (or summonses being issued) daily has taken a drastic dip.

Given that the cameras are located in “black spots”, or accident-prone areas, and are operational round the clock, the drop in the number of motorists being caught for speeding or beating traffic lights means there is less chance of an accident occurring.

What this translates into is that lives are being saved, which is the biggest concern of the authorities.

At some sites, the drop from the first week of implementation to the fifth week (up until Nov 4) is as much as 73 per cent (see graphics), and the "triumvirate" believes the figure can only get better.